


The Time We Had

by Genius_626



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Fluff, Marriage, OC Offspring - Freeform, courting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-07
Updated: 2014-09-07
Packaged: 2018-02-16 11:13:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2267592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genius_626/pseuds/Genius_626
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wrote this back in the summer when Kiliel week was happening on Tumblr. It's super happy and sweet and without most of the canonical sadness.</p>
<p>I will write more if given requests :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Remember Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the only angsty chapter I promise.

It was the eve of the battle and Tauriel was looking for him, the dwarf that had asked if she could love him. She thought she’d heard his name spoken in Laketown. Kili. She now heard that name being spoken of among her people in regard to the line of Durin. Could Kili really be one of Thorin Oakensheild’s heirs? The idea was almost daunting, knowing of the violent enemies of his line.

She ventured far from her post, but so had he when they found each other, hidden from sight by the mountain side. Neither questioned their good fortune, only welcomed it, as there was not much time.

"Tauriel." He greeted, his voice betraying the relief he must have truly felt.

"Kili." She spoke, realizing she’d never said his name allowed before.

He couldn’t help but supply a small smile at the sound of his name coming from her lips, despite their grim circumstances. He stepped closer to her, standing on a ledge that made him eye level with her.

"I made you something, should our paths never cross again." His face was placid, devoid of the joy she’d once seen shine from his bright eyes.

She wanted to deny his words, but his worry was more than possible, so she let him continue by taking a small trinket from his pocket. The dwarf turned his palm up and revealed to her a light grey stone, resembling that of the rune stone his mother had given him. Tauriel was not entirely sure if the runes carved in this one were identical to those on the other.

"The runes on my mother’s stone say ‘return to me.’ My promise to her." He explained.

Tauriel looked away from the stone and into his eyes. “And these runes?”

He held her gaze for a moment before taking one of her hands and clutching it with both of his own. “It says, ‘remember me.’”

She felt the stone pressing into her own palm, his warm hands surrounding her own still, as they held their gaze. She eventually rested her other hand on the side of his neck, bringing their foreheads together gently. She felt as if they were mourning a loss, and maybe they were. The loss of whatever they could have been in any other world, in any other time and place.

Before they separated, Tauriel dare say what her heart bade her to.

"You have my love." She said, her voice soft, but not small.

"And you have mine." Kili answered, pulling away to look at her one last time. A tear had fallen, but he didn’t lift a finger from their entwined hands, he was clearly not ashamed.

"Promise me." He said, his voice low and strong, his eyes red, but unwavering.

"I promise." She said, returning his strength with her own. They parted ways after finally dislodging their grip on each other, Tauriel taking the rune stone and clutching it until he completely disappeared from her vision.

And for as long as she lived, she would keep her promise to him.


	2. Courting Matters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So everybody survives the battle and Tauriel lives in the mountain :D I didn't write a chapter explaining this, but I can if requested.

The first time Kili had asked to braid her hair, he’d explained that it was part of a courting ritual.

"Of course, you don’t have to let me if you don’t want to. I’m sure there are plenty of differences between elven and dwarfish courting matters—" He was flustered as he spoke, hardly characteristic of her young, usually outspoken dwarf, though not entirely unexpected. He’d acted similarly the first time he’d asked to brush her hair.

Placing a reassuring hand on his face — effectively stopping him from sputtering excuses — Tauriel eased him further with her words of acceptance.

"I would be honored." She said.

Kili’s enthusiasm swiftly returned as his anxieties faded. As he proceeded in weaving her hair with surprisingly nimble fingers, he explained further about braids in his culture.

"They’re symbols, as is every decoration. Fili and I bare our family symbols by way of the patterns on our clothing, and sometimes the color is significant as well. Fili’s braids are very significant, adorned with metal beads and such. They represent the royal lineage, and more specifically, that he is the heir to the throne."

"And does he do them all by himself?" Tauriel asked, curious now about these rituals. Elves did not have such traditions, especially when it came to hair. Actually, no one but herself had done so much as touched her hair in years. The gentle feeling of his hands was foreign, but welcomed nonetheless.

"He can do well enough on his own if he has to." Kili answered. "Mother would do them for him, and sometimes I’ve done it. I fixed them for him every so often on our quest whenever they managed to come apart."

"So, this is something exclusive for members of the family?"

"Mostly. In our case, almost family." He smiled widely, looking up to see her reaction. Seeing as it was positive, his grin remained as he leant up from where he sat beside her on their bed and kissed her check. "It’s a, well, a very intimate thing." He said softly into her ear before kissing her there as well.

Finishing the braid off with a bead he’d had stored in his tunic, he sat back to look at his handiwork. Tauriel lifted the bead up so that she could see it clearly.

“This is a symbol of something?”

"Just my undying love for you." Kili said quite casually. "Made it special, it glitters in direct light. Wait until they all see you tonight!" He said, unable to contain his excitement.

That night at dinner, Fili was the first to talk with Tauriel, as he usually was. Although Kili’s family had indeed allowed them to court each other, Fili was by far the most comfortable with her.

"Well hello, princess." He greeted, a silly smile on his face. "What lovely adornments you have on this evening."

"Thank you." Tauriel said, although half skeptically, knowing that Fili was teasing. "Though I’m hardly a princess."

"Well you will be, that’s what your braid says, anyway." Fili continued, still grinning unabashedly.

"I knew he was keeping something from me." Tauriel said. "He didn’t exactly tell me what it meant."

Fili laughed. “Has he taught you the reciprocal braid?”

"No, not yet." Tauriel replied. "I’m under the impression that he’s not terribly fond of braids."

"You’re quite right. Kili’s second in line for the throne, and believe it or not, there are decorations for that title. But no, he’s not fond of them. I used to think it was because he couldn’t do it himself, but he’s proven to be very good. I’m sure if you are the one to braid that unruly mess of his, he’d be perfectly fine with it."

Tauriel nods, recognizing Fili’s words as endearment. “I just hope I can keep up with your traditions, Kili seems to hold them in high regard.”

Fili gave a breath of laughter. “You’ll do fine. And about Kili, I can imagine many reasons why he’d take this all so seriously. It’s very much part of coming of age in the eyes of our people. And just between us,” he paused, likely for dramatic effect, “I think he’s very excited to be marrying you.”

"I would never have guessed." Tauriel replied.


	3. A Traditional Couple

In the short weeks she’d been been living in Erebor, Tauriel found — to her own mild frustration — that it was quite difficult adjusting to living under the mountain. It was so incredibly different then her forest, everything so stiff and rather dull here. True, the Mirkwood could sometimes be the same — especially in the palace — but she could at least retreat to somewhere more lively, where new life formed the green roads and course rivers. Here, there was nothing but stone and soil, hardly a place for an elf.

Kili knew this, quite painfully well, and did his best to make her comfortable. He’d convinced Thorin to let him build a dwelling where they could have a balcony, so she could at least have a good view of the night sky from the comfort of their own home.

Home. He wanted to believe it was home. He’d been told all his life that he and his people had been robbed of it, gone on their quest to reclaim it, and now that they had succeeded…well, the adjustment was more daunting then he’d expected. Especially now that he had a significant other to adjust with. Who happened to be an elf. Admittedly, he had a lot to learn.

Something else that defied his expectations were the duties of a Prince. Fili had taken to it almost naturally, but he was struggling with the authenticity of it all. And he thought working in the mines was hard, politics blew any laborious job right out of the water.

One night, after an outright draining meeting that had been much too long for Kili’s taste, he entered his humble abode to a crackling fire along with his fiery haired elf.

"Evening." He said, trying and half failing to sound more chipper then he was.

She glanced his way and nodded, a small smile on her lips as he approached. Getting closer, Kili noticed that Tauriel was inspecting her artillery, sharpening her arrows…he didn’t remember her having quite this many arrows. He sat by her on the ground and picked one up. They were not his, but they were definitely of dwarfish make.

"The guards here like a good bet." Tauriel explained, although he hadn’t asked. Kili’s lips spread into a smile quite on their own accord.

“I’m guessing you swept them away with your skills and collected your bounty?”

She nodded, not once putting her weapons down.

They were quiet for a long, peaceful moment. This all should seem strange, their entire situation, but neither felt the least bit alien in each other’s company. It was an odd feeling neither ignored and neither cared to explain, not after the tragedies and hardships they were still silently recovering from.

Kili only then took off his outer tunic and placed it unceremoniously beside him before scooting up closer to Tauriel. Placing careful fingers in her hair, he started to make a braid behind her ear. He made a habit of doing this every night, and though he’d explained to Tauriel the cultural significance of the gesture, he never expected it back. He rarely wore braids himself, but sometimes when he had to look official, Fili helped him with his unruly mess of hair, which he was grateful for.

"Tomorrow I’ve got close to nothing to do." Kili began to say. "We could make a day of it outside the mountain." He thought about his schedule for a moment before continuing. "Maybe a few days."

"And risk the wrath of the King?" Tauriel replied in jest. Thorin wasn’t particularly fond of her, and neither were many other dwarves. They’ve gone on similar outings to get away from Erebor for a few days at a time, and Thorin is never too happy about it.

"I’ll tell him in advance this time." Kili chuckled to him himself. "Did you have dinner?"

"Yes, with your mother."

Kili smiled widely, delighted. Of course his mother had not been terribly keen on the idea of her youngest son courting, least of all courting an elf, but she’d quickly grown fond of Tauriel for one reason or another. Maybe it was the time they’d spent together, maybe it was witnessing the connection he and Tauriel so clearly shared, maybe it was because Thorin was so against the union — whatever reason, Kili was glad for it.

"Brilliant. How is she?"

"Opinionated, as usual. Gave me an education on the politics of the forge."

Kili laughed as he finished his braid and moved take the weapons from Tauriel’s hands. He ended up cupped her small hands in his, another habit he had, absolutely loving the feeling of their fingers intwined.

"That’s mum for you. Anyway, if I do end up taking a few days off, I promised Fili we wouldn’t have too much fun. He missed out last time when we ran into that sorry pack of thieves."

Tauriel recalled very clearly their encounter with ravagers just north of a small town they’d come across in their travels. Justice had been served quite easily, they were no match for the master archers unseen.

"Isn’t the point of having days off, to relax?" Tauriel mused, knowing exactly how much she loved their eventful wanderings.

Kili scoffed. “You of all people should know that’s not how we work. We are in no way a _traditional_ couple.”

Tauriel smiled at that. “True. I do miss hunting for myself as well. I thought serving royalty was exhilarating, but living amongst them, exhausting, and in the most dull of ways.”

Kili knew what she meant, feeling that way himself sometimes, but couldn’t help but blame himself a bit. “Terribly sorry I bore you.” He said under his breath, not sure if he’d wanted to say it or not.

Tauriel turned her eyes to his slightly downcast face with a very sharp gaze for a moment before taking his chin in one of her hands to raise his eyes up to hers. “You do not bore me. You’re the one I’m going on this…this adventure with.”

He brightened up hearing that, mostly, but was still in a a somber mood. "Are you home sick?" He asked, genuinely wanting to know. He’d asked this before weeks ago, and then with all the chaos of post battle reparations and new settlers coming in on top of all of her personal troubles with not wanting returning to Mirkwood, she honestly could not answer him.

"Yes," she spoke honestly, "but I have great memories of when I was home, and I revisit them often." She looked in the direction of their balcony, moonlight shining in where the fire light did not reach across the room.

Kili gave a content smile and yawned. Tauriel took that as a cue that they should retire and got on her feet. Kili wordlessly followed her lead.

"Maybe you can finally show me how to do that courtship braid you like so much. We can blend in as a traditional couple yet." Tauriel offered.

Kili entertained the thought. “I’d be honored to teach you, but I doubt any amount of braids could mask our unusual case.” Before entering their chambers, he wrapped both arms around her waist, leaned in and kissed the underside of her jaw. “But that’s good, because I wouldn’t change any of this for the world.”


	4. An Unexpected Strategy

Kili had his target sighted, the stag mulling away in the near distance, completely unsuspecting of the dwarf hidden and poised to shoot it down.

The archer’s breathing was focused and quiet, he was ready. Just as he took the breath that would release with his arrow, the stag was struck down by the shot of another. His arms cramped to still from releasing his weapon, the act now pointless. He let out his anticipatory breath with a disappointed grunt, knowing full well who had stolen his prize.

She didn’t reveal herself outright which was typical of the elf maiden.

"I know where you’re hiding." Kili said allowed, almost in a sing-song tone, knowing she at least could hear him. She liked hunting from the trees — or at least liked to boast about the fact that she could in the dwarf’s presence — and he did have to admit, the vantage point was quite an advantage.

"You had me going there for a moment," he continued, "thought you’d forgotten about our date."

That’s when he heard a stir from behind. He whipped around to see the mischievous elf crouching on the forest floor, apparently having leapt from the height which she had been perched. She straightened up and looked at him with a playful grin on her face.

“You call scavenging for food to sustain our company a date?”

Kili smiled at that, confirming her quarry with a strong head nod. “Any time I can find to spend alone with you, I consider as such. Especially when we’re traveling.”

Tauriel, Kili, Fili, and a good company of dwarves were off on official business, traveling to different kingdoms to settle trade and whatnot. Tauriel was more or less serving as their unofficial captain of the guard, riding off far beyond that of the company to scout out potential threats. Kili of course wanted to go along with her, but as a prince, he was told to stay behind and remain in the safety of the company. Thus, among understandable amounts of frustration on Kili’s part, he had barely see her this entire trip and had been looking forward to hunting by her side.

Swiftly approaching his love, Kili leaned up and placed a sweet kiss on her chin, that being the highest place he could reach without her leaning down.

Tauriel, although obviously pleased with him, was all too serious about keeping to their task, so they wasted little time and made their way to the kill Tauriel had made.

"How are elves so quiet? Jumping about in trees of all things?" Kili mused allowed.

"Hundreds of years of practice." Tauriel replied.

Kili hummed. “I suppose that goes for something. You’re people are just built for agility, aren’t they? You must have hollow bones, like birds, maybe that’s why you like the trees so much.”

Tauriel pushed her companion’s shoulder playfully, effectively making him lose his balance for a spilt second.

“Enough with your pointless wanderings on. I could easily accuse dwarves of having bones of iron and stone, you heavy brute.”

Kili snorted in her direction. “Heavy? Is that suppose to be an insult? I wish I were heavier!”

Once the two found the kill, they spent another hour hunting before coming up with enough bounty to bring back to camp. On their way back to camp, a thought came to Tauriel.

"Would you like to learn how to shoot from a tree?" She asked.

Kili’s brow furrowed quickly at the question? “What on earth for?”

The elf shrugged, nonchalant, only peaking Kili’s curiosity. “It’d be a fine strategy to know for hunting…it would be another excuse to spend more time together on this trip, not to mention you could sneak up on Fili in a way he’d never expect.”Tauriel finished with mischievous intent and Kili absolutely loved it.

"Dearest," he said, "I love the way you think."


	5. Son's First Trip

Fifty years after Thorin’s company reclaimed Erebor, the mountain and it’s people were thriving. The young princes, having become war heroes after the Battle of the Five Armies, found their place among the royal line, with duties and responsibilities of their own.

Kili and Tauriel have been married for most of that time, despite the many dwarves in Erebor that oppose such a pair. Furthermore, they were not just a pair any longer. Their son, Taurin, nearly twenty-five years old, had never been outside of the mountain for longer then a day. Around his birthday, both parents decided a vacation of sorts was in order, a trip to the Mirkwood so that their son could learn more about his heritage.

"Mother, I’m nervous." Taurin confessed on the eve of the departure. "I’ve never been outside the mountain for as long as we’re planning. And I’ve certainly never met another elf besides you."

"You’ll do fine, better then fine." Tauriel reassures him, placing both her hands on her son’s slight shoulders. "Don’t worry so much. I’m sure you’ll be right at home once we reach the woods, you’ll see. It’s in your blood."

And just as Tauriel had predicted, Taurin’s nervousness quickly turned into excitement as they were off on their journey. It took a day on horseback to reach the woods, and as soon as they were immersed in trees and wildlife, Taurin was exploring on his own, wandering from his parents on more than one occasion.

"Taurin, get back here!" Kili shouted before turning to his wife with a knowing look on his face. "I knew he’d like this, now I just hope his sense of direction is as good as yours."

Tauriel kept an eye on Taurin as she replied. “Let him roam, there is nothing beyond that brush but the river. And I can still hear him. If his movements become too feint we’ll go after him.”

Kili would be baffled by the calmness of his wife if he were not already used to it. Oh, she as was passionate and sharp as they came, but when it came to the notion of their son’s safely, she was surprisingly lenient, having a great amount of faith in his instincts, even when he had been only an infant.

"How did I become the protective parent?" Kili questioned, his lopsided smile indicating that he was partly making fun of himself.

"Because our son has the interior of a dwarf and the exterior of an elf." Tauriel replied.

"Reckless beyond measure, but not as sturdy as the young ones of my kind." Kili interpreted for himself, nodding in agreement. "Maybe he’ll grow into it." He shrugged. There was no telling what their unique offspring would grow up to be like. "Probably won’t grow a beard, though."

That night they set up camp beneath the stars. Of course Taurin had been introduced to star gazing and wood elf traditions and such, but never had he seemed so emerged in starlight as he did so now as he lay on his back in the thick of the woods. And as much as he loved the new view, it wasn’t long after sundown that the youngling surrendered to sleep. Kili took it upon himself to gather the boy into his arms and get him properly into his bedroll. He and Tauriel remained awake, talking softly with each other as the fire died down.

"He’s almost as tall as I am." Kili said. "No dwarf has ever had to worry about that this early in their child’s life." He smiles and looks to Tauriel, who is now stealing glances at their peacefully sleeping son.

"This is really nice." Kili continued. "Just us, away from Erebor, in the open air, under the stars." He took his wife’s hand in his before raising it to his lips and kissing the back of it.

"Any other dwarf would find this unbearable." Tauriel responded.

"Any other elf would find living under a mountain unbelievable and suffocating." Kili retorted automatically.

They found themselves having this “argument” rather frequently, never really coming up with a conclusion, just admiring each other for their differences.

"Do you think he’ll like Mirkwood?" Tauriel asked after a bout of silence. "After all, he did grow up in a mountain of dwarves, the cultural differences may at first be a bit of a…shock to him."

"Well, he seems to enjoy this so far." Kili said. "The change in scenery is bound to be at least interesting. And…he knows you miss it, he’ll give in the extra effort for you. And so will I."

Tauriel smiled at her husband’s words, knowing full well of his unsettled feelings towards Mirkwood and the pride he’s swallowed in going back there. She couldn’t help but appreciate him for his selflessness.

"Thank you." She said, leaning down to kiss him properly, which he willingly accepted.

They stayed close together as Kili pulled away for breath. “Anything for my wife and son, my stars in the night. And besides, I really needed a vacation.”


End file.
